Research Topics

Discover the diversity of research topics investigated in our laboratories. 

Research Laboratories

Explore the research laboratories directed by our faculty, and learn how to get involved.

Programs, Centers, and Institutes

Learn more about interdisciplinary research and learning opportunities. 

Faculty Research News

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PBS assistant professor awarded $3 million NIH grant to study the psychology and neuroscience behind social behavior

Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Dorit Kliemann, assistant professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, was awarded a multimillion dollar grant by the National Institutes of Health for her research on social cognition.
Mark Blumberg

Blumberg $3.1M National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Lab explores origins, functions of sleep in premature infants

Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Mark Blumberg and his team aim to learn more about how sleep — and twitches that occur during a key phase of sleep — influences brain development in babies.
Michelle Voss and Jan Wessel

Voss and Wessel selected for National Academy of Medicine Emerging Leaders Forum

Monday, March 24, 2025
The Emerging Leaders Forum is an invitation-only event that gathers exceptional early- and mid-career professionals who show remarkable promise, achievement, and leadership in biomedical science, health care, health policy, and related fields.
Julie Gros-Louis

PBS faculty member named 2025 Hubbard-Walder honoree

Monday, March 17, 2025
Julie Gros-Louis, associate professor of instruction in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, was selected by the Council on Teaching to receive the 2025 Hubbard-Walder Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Shaun Vacera

Vecera receives Lola Lopes Award

Thursday, March 6, 2025
The 2025 Lola Lopes Award for Undergraduate Student Advocacy has been awarded to Shaun Vecera, director of the University of Iowa Honors Program and professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
Mark Blumberg

CLAS PBS professor recognized for career-long contributions to our understanding of sleep in early life

Monday, February 24, 2025
For more than two decades, Mark Blumberg, University of Iowa Distinguished Chair in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, has been investigating the development of sleep in human and non-human animals.
PB

Paras Bassuk named UI’s 23rd Rhodes Scholar

Tuesday, November 19, 2024
The University of Iowa is uniquely known for being a place where art meets science, where students are encouraged to explore and innovate across these disciplines. Paras Bassuk, UI’s newest Rhodes Scholar, personifies exactly what that means — and more.
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Tranel receives 2024 Distinguished Mentor Award

Wednesday, September 18, 2024
For more than four decades, Dan Tranel, the F. Wendell Miller Professor in Psychology and Brain Sciences, has been instrumental in growing neuroscience at Iowa and beyond. He leads the Iowa Neurological Patient Registry, one of the largest research repositories of its kind and a unique resource used by neuroscientists around the world, and he has nurtured the careers of hundreds of young neuroscientists.
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Self Driving Cars & Crosswalks

Monday, September 2, 2024
With an estimated 3.5 million self-driving vehicles expected on America’s roads by next year, University of Iowa researchers are investigating how to make crossing the road safe, especially for children.
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Iowa researchers identify approaches for how people recognize words

Thursday, August 29, 2024
University of Iowa researchers have defined how people recognize words. In a new study with people who use cochlear implants to hear, the researchers identified three main approaches that people with or without hearing impairment use to recognize words, an essential building block for understanding spoken language.